My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Our Only True Lord, God, and Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.
On the 1st of October, Our Holy Orthodox Church Commemorates
SuEver-Virgin Mary, who served the faithful with her VEIL at the Church
of Vlachernai, as seen by Saint Andrew the Fool for Christ.
"Rejoice with God, ranking second only to the Trinity!’
[Saint Andrew of Crete]
The Sacred Feast of the Holy Protection of Our Most Holy and Glorious Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary is celebrated today, brethren, in remembrance of A VISION BEHELD BY OUR HOLY FATHER AMONG THE SAINTS, THE VENERABLE ANDREW, THE FOOL FOR CHRIST’S SAKE, DURING THE REIGN OF EMPEROR LEO. Saint Andrew’s struggles and labors for God, amid the most severe deprivation, took him through the streets of Constantinople, He was vouchsafed many visions, but the last recorded one, which took place during a Vigil he attended, served as the basis of the establishment of the Feast of the Holy Protection of the Theotokos. It was Sunday, the 1st of October, in Vlachernai, at the Church of the Theotokos. This church is described as follows by an anonymous Byzantine hymnographer: "Throughout all the city, of all the churches and chapels dedicated to the Theotokos, this is the most glorious and the most honored. Now according to their custom, Saint Andrew and his disciple, Epiphanios, were attending church. At the Fourth Hour of the night, behold, the blessed Andrew, with his own eyes, observed the Most Holy Theotokos coming from ‘THE BEAUTIFUL DOOR’ of the Narthex. She shone as the sun and was upraised very high, even as high as the heavens, being born aloft by the awe-inspiring orders of Holy Angels. The Holy and Honorable Forerunner John, and Saint John the Theologian escorted, by the hand, the Queen of the Angels. The Angels, some going on ahead, and others following, were chanting spiritual songs and hymns in a ver delightful and pleasant manner. Only Saint Andrew and Epiphanios were able to hear the mystical chanting.
The Queen then entered the midst of the temple, where the ancient pulpit (ambo) was located, and then stood in the middle of the solea. The Lady Theotokos then kneeled down and was praying and entreating her Only-begotten Son for a long while, for the salvation of the faithful, tears streaming down her countenance that bore the likeness of God. Saint Andrew went to Epiphanios and said to him, ‘Dost thou see, child, the Lady of hte cosmos?’ Epiphanios said, "Yes, honorable father, I also see b thy holy prayers the Lady Theotokos, and I marvel."
After the Theotokos prayed a sufficient time in that place, then she rose up and entered the Holy Sanctuary (vema), wherein was kept the sacred reliquary coffin (soros) CONTAINING HER VEIL (MAPHORION). She took it up into her hands and exited. She then stood before the Royal Doors of the vema, and placed the veil on her All-Immaculate head, wrapping it with beautiful mo, fo rdesty. Then holding it by her undefiled hands, SHE TOOK THAT GREAT AND FEARFUL VEIL AND SOLEMNLY SPREAD IT OVER THE FAITHFUL THAT WERE PRESENT, COVERING ALL THOSE THERE THAT WERE CHRISTIANS. The two men observed that, over the faithful, for a considerable time, her OMOPHORION WAS EXTENDED AND EMITTING IMMATERIAL AND RADIANT RAYS, WITH GREATER LUSTER THAN ELECTRUM, FLASHING LIKE LIGHTNING. As long as the Lady Theotokos stood there and THE HOLY PROTECTION OF HER VEIL APPEARED SPREAD OVER THE FAITHFUL, SHE WAS DISTRIBUTING GIFTS OF GRACE. When the Lady Theotokos begun to mount to the heavens, little by little, her divine protection was becoming invisible, until it no longer appeared, but HER GRACE CONTINUED, HOWEVER, TO ABIDE THERE. Moreover, this PROTECTION OF THE FAITHFUL CONTINUED ON ACCOUNT OF THE PRESENCE OF HER SACRED AND GRACE-FILLED VEIL, which was preserved in that very church at Vlachernai. This then is the account of the Holy Andrew and his initiate Epiphanios, who was vouchsafed this vision through the meditation of our divine Father Andrew. Saint Andrew was so filled with the grace of lofty and spiritual contemplation and visions of revelations that TRANSCENDED NATURE, that he imparted this grace also to Epiphanios. This and many other similar visions both fearful and extraordinary, were vouchsafed to Saint Andrew.
Thus, the Holy Feast we celebrate on the 1st of October was inaugurated by this vision. Saint Gregory Palamas (+ 1359) saw the Mother of God as "the Source and Root of the race of liberty… The Virgin Mother alone dwells in the frontier between CREATED and UNCREATED natures, and those who know God recognize also in her the Habitation of the Infinite."
Let us speak now of these last and terrible times, when sin has abounded and we are placed in multifarious dangers, even as the Holy Apostle Paul once wrote about his battle with false apostles. Satan transforming himself into an angel of light, and his ministers who transform themselves as ministers of righteousness and enslave and devour the people. We hear that Saint Paul bears dishonor, weariness, concerns, fasts, and blows, and, as an example to us, he tells, "Yes, all those who wish to live piously in Christ Jesus SHALL BE PERSECUTED" [2 Timothy 3:12]. Our Savior tells His Disciples what shall be the sign of His Coming and the completion of the age, saying, "For nation shall be stirred up against nation, and earthquakes, in place after place" [Matthew 24:7). "In these last days, we are assailed by attacks from aliens, civil wars, and deadly plagues. Let no one be moved by these afflictions; for ye yourselves know that for this we are appointed [1 Thessalonians 3:3]; for "THROUGH MANY TEMPTATIONS IT IS NECESSARY FOR US TO ENTER THE KINGDOM OF GOD" [Acts 14:22]. The Most Holy Virgin, the Mother of God, renders her protection over us, that we might be delivered from every peril, whether it be famine, sick29-ness, or earthquake. Saint John of Kronstadt [1829-1908] writes in is memoirs:
"Holy Virgin, our Lady! O Thou, whose love toward Christians surpasses the
love of every earthborn mother and of every wife, hear our prayers and save
us! May we constantly remember thee! May we always pray fervently to thee!
May we ever undoubtingly and unfailingly take refuge beneath thy holy
PROTECTION!"
Being higher than any member of the Church, the Theotokos is near to Him, AS ONE HAVING GIVEN HIM FLESH. She stands in the firmament, between Heaven and earth, between God and man, between the Judge of the contest and Prize-Giver Christ and the struggling Church, even as the tower of David between Sion and Jerusalem. She, too, has those shields which are her All-mighty intercessions. As the Mother to her Son and God, and her Fashioner, she fervently prays with words full of compassion and love, saying such things as these: "O heavenly King, do Thou accept everyman who glorifies Thee and invokes Thy Most Holy Name. Do Thou sanctify and glorify those that glorify Thee and honor me, Thy Most Beloved Mother. Receive their every entreaty and supplication, and deliver them from every necessity and affliction."
In the vision of Saint Andrew, two of the most splendid Saints appeared with her: The Forerunner who was spoken of by the Lord Himself Who said, "Verily, I say to you, there hath not arisen among those born of women a greater than John the Baptist" [Matthew 11:11]; and Saint John the Theologian, the Beloved Disciple. Our Protectress was accompanied by these two, as ones who have great boldness before God; for keep in mind the words of the Holy Apostle James (Iakovos), "The entreaty of a righteous man hath much strength when it is energized" [James 5:16].
The Most Immaculate Virgin stands in the midst of these two virgins, even as the ark between the two Cherubim, and the Throne of the Lord of Sabaoth between the Seraphim, even as Moses when his hands were supported by Aaron and Or, so that Jesus (the son of Navee) routed Amalek and all his people with the slaughter of the sword. For with a secret hand the Lord wages war upon Amalek to all generations [Exodus 17:11-16].
We ought not to despise the wealth of God’s kindness and forbearance and long-suffering four our repentance. Therefore, we are in need, for all the days of our lives, and indeed especially on that Dread Day when our soul is separated from the body, of the Virgin Theotokos’ powerful assistance. We pray that she overtakes us then with her help and protection, and not the evil spirits in the air; but we also beg her mediation during that fearful day of Judgment that she might shelter us with her mystical protection.
Saint John of Kronstadt writes: "It was through the incarnation of the Logos/Word that the All-Holy Virgin has been given to us as an All-Powerful INTERCESSOR, who protects us from sins, misfortunes, and disasters. Praying for us day and night, Our Queen, whose power no enemy visible or invisible can withstand, truly is our mother by grace in accordance with the words uttered by Christ on the Cross to the Beloved Disciple, "Behold thy Mother!" and to her, "Behold thy son!" [John 19:26-27]. [Resources: The Great Synaxaristes of the Orthodox Church]
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"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"
– Saint John Chrysostomos
+ + +
With sincere agape in His Divine and Glorious Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+ Father George
The Eastern Orthodox Christian Ethos 